


Through The Storm

by BornToFly02



Series: Downpour [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Titans (TV 2018), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Good Parent Dick Grayson, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Parent Dick Grayson, Past Rape/Non-con, Police Officer Dick Grayson, Protective Dick Grayson, Romani Dick Grayson, Single Parent Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:22:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27221920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BornToFly02/pseuds/BornToFly02
Summary: Dick has worked alone when possible since the mess with Tarantula and despite all the support, he still rarely talks about it, if ever.The assignment of a new partner and the arrival of a young girl seeking help brings up parts of his past he usually prefers to forget...
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Donna Troy, Dick Grayson & Raven
Series: Downpour [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984505
Comments: 4
Kudos: 244





	Through The Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Multiple lines are taken directly from Titans(2018)

Amy Rohrbach didn't know what to expect when she took the job in Detroit, but it certainly wasn't Dick Grayson. She was confused at the reactions of the others in the office when she said who her partner was up until she actually met the guy.

"Don't take it personally." She was told as Grayson walked away.

"Do I need a breath mint or something?"

"He's been pushing off getting a partner since he got here." Manny reassured her.

"He used to work in Bludhaven before it was wiped out, and grew up in Gotham." Jessica chimed in, eager to partake in some office gossip. "He likes to work alone. Something to do with a bad experience with a previous partner."

"Jesus. What happened with the last partner?"

"Who knows? He never talks about it."

* * *

Dick had a double shift at the station so he called in Donna. Roy would be busy with the security company work, Wally was... gone (for the past four years), Garth was in Atlantis, Lilith was halfway across the country for work, and Donna would murder him if she was the last one called. At least she had a fairly loose schedule when it came to her day job.

His son, Johnny was four years old and was very used to spending his days with his Aunts and Uncles or at the police station when his Dat couldn't find anyone to watch him. He would start kindergarten when September rolled back around but until then, babysitters and bring your kid to work day would have to do.

Detective Grayson walked into the station with a scowl on his face, as was the usual as of late. Since the destruction of Bludhaven, he'd tried to hang up the suit, focusing on his day job and son. So of course, he'd gone out just the night before.

He watched the video of Nightwing, saw the expressions and reactions of his coworkers, and swallowed hard. It didn't feel like excessive violence. At least, not in the moment. His new partner, Amy Rohrbach, seemed friendly enough and he felt legitimately bad for shutting her out so abruptly.

He knew the others had filled her in on the Bludhaven part but that didn't make him feel any better. He knew he had a shitty past but he always felt it was wrong to use it as an excuse. That was part of why he approached her as night fell.

"Hey, any luck on that Nightwing thing?"

"Wait, are you talking to me? Is everyone else dead? Because I clearly must be the last person on earth for that to happen."

"I guess I haven't been the most welcoming." Dick said with a self-deprecating grin.

Before either of them could say anything more, his name was called.

"Hey Grayson. You have that thing for helping kids, yeah?"

Amy watched this young man, younger than her, close right up. His expression went cold as he nodded and headed to the interrogation room where the officer had brought the young girl. Amy hadn't been there long, hardly even two days, but she was already immensely curious about her partner.

* * *

Dick walked into the room, quickly taking in the young girl, practically swimming in her black sweater, purple hair framing her face. Her eyes were wide, innocent, something he would never see in Gotham or Blud.

"Hi there. How are you doing?"

She stared at him like she was trying to solve a puzzle and he was one of the pieces.

"Word on the street is that you like playing baseball with bricks and cop cars. I'm Detective Dick Grayson. You want to talk about what happened?"

The recognition in her eyes was the first red flag.

"It's you. You're the boy from the circus."

There was the second.

"Please. Can you help me?"

Dick took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright, I want to help you, but in order for me to do that I need to know what happened."

She blushed and nodded. Her fingers twisting together on the table.

"Okay, what's your name?"

"Rachel. Rachel Roth."

"Now, what happened that made you throw a brick at a cop car."

Maybe in another world he would've flipped out as soon as she mentioned the circus, but he'd been immersed in the world of metas, aliens, demigods, and superheros long enough that his first instinct wasn't 'prank' but rather 'this girl must need some extra, super, help'.

"Someone killed my mom."

Dick sighed and slid over a notepad.

"Write down your address and I'll have someone check it out."

She does so quickly before looking back up at him imploringly.

"She was all I had. The only person who cared for me, I'm alone now."

He accepted the pad that she slid back to him but then she put her hand on his wrist. He was drawn back to that night. The blood soaking his leotard. The flashing red and blue lights drowning the warm light of the circus. People crying out for their own trauma, not noticing or caring about the small child left behind. His tiny, eight year old body being pulled into strong arms. The arms of someone who didn't promise that everything would be okay, but that the man responsible would face justice.

Just as quickly as it started, he was pulled back out when Rachel pulled her hand away, looking just as shocked as he was.

"Look, I'm gonna check this out. Okay?"

"Don't leave me here." She protested, a frantic look in her eyes.

"Hey, Rachel, listen to me. I'm not leaving you. I'm just going on the other side of that glass to get someone to check out your house. I'll be back as quick as I can. Alright?"

She bit her lip and nodded hesitantly. He smiled reassuringly and left.

After calling the station where Rachel lived, he hung up and dialed a different number.

"Hey Donna, I can't thank you enough for babysitting for me but I may need some more help."

* * *

Dick had just stepped out for some fresh air when Amy approached him again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"So what? You and your sidekick go bad?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You and your partner at Bludhaven PD. I mean, I'm no mind reader. It just seems kind of obvious."

"Well it's clear you aren't a mind reader, cause you're wrong. When I was a teen, growing up in Gotham then moving to Blud, I wanted to help."

Amy frowned, walking a bit closer, hungry for answers.

"In the middle of my time at the Academy, I met someone and thought I could help them. They were volatile but I thought I could help them be better. I was wrong and got hurt because of it. In a... sort of unexpected way."

She smiled slightly at him in the silence between them.

"So you're not really, huh?"

"What?"

"An asshole."

Dick snorted and reached into his pocket for his wallet.

Moving closer, he opened it to show a picture that Donna had taken of him and Roy with their respective children on their shoulders, little arms straining to reach the highest, while Lilith and Garth laughed in the background.

"Don't tell." He smirked at her astonished expression. "It'll kill my rep."

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, starting in on Titans but I still want to focus a fair amount on Dick relationships with his son and the people around him
> 
> Instead of issues with Bruce, I made the wariness more about the rape and general experience with Tarantula, seeing as this entire series is essentially a theoretical offshoot from that event


End file.
